Top Tournaments and Players to Watch: Week 2

<p>Here are a few tournaments this weekend that will include some of the state's best teams and players alike. </p> <p><strong>Regent Prep Tournament</strong></p> <p>Teams attending: 4A Regent Prep, homeschool team NOAH, 4A Catoosa, 5A Collinsville, 4A Crossings Christian, 4A Newcastle, 6A Enid, and 6A Bartlesville. </p> <p>There are definitely some interesting matchups in this tournament. Long time state tournament team, Catoosa, will be looking to get some quality wins within their class, as well as possibly grab a win or two over larger-sized schools. 6A Bartlesville has only gotten better each year since coach Ward has taken over and will be looking to raise the trophy at the end. Host school Regent and 4A Crossings will be trying to get some quality wins with the upcoming rankings looming. </p> <p>Players that will wow you: 2022 RH [player_tooltip player_id="144139" first="Mia" last="Otten"] from Bartlesville is a must-see. She has committed to the University of Dayton and can really light up the stat sheet. She brings a really heavy swing <span style="font-size: 1rem;">equally</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;"> from the front row and back row. She is listed as the #3 overall player in her class. The combination of 2023 OH [player_tooltip player_id="145983" first="Ella" last="Drake"] and 2022 OH [player_tooltip player_id="144088" first="Beth" last="Bayless"] will keep the rams offense humming. 2022 OH Macie Wayne from Catoosa earned All-tournament at the Verdigris tournament this past weekend and will look to earn that same award this weekend. 2023 OH Kyleigh Whitehead from Enid will look to continue to lead her team and also look to get back-to-back All-Tournament nominations after receiving one at the Sandite Invitational. </span></p> <p><strong>Holland Hall Tournament</strong></p> <p>Teams attending: 4A Holland Hall, 3A Cascia Hall, 3A Okay, 5A Claremore, 4A Christian Heritage Academy, Private school Casady,  4A Inola, and 6A Sand Springs.</p> <p>All of these teams will be looking to grab some wins right before the first rankings of the year are released. Most of these teams have their sights set on the state tournament in their respective classes and this tournament could be just the thing that could help them with that. 3A Okay and Coach Collins will look to continue being undefeated after winning the Tahlequah Sequoyah tournament and beating McAlester. 4A Inola will be looking to win back-to-back tournaments, as they just won the Verdigris tournament beating a quality OBA team in the finals. Host, Holland Hall, came just short of the tournament championship losing to Cascia Hall in the 5th and final set. They will both be looking forward to seeing each other again this weekend. 5A Claremore also came up just short of a tournament title in Coweta this past weekend, losing to Lawton Mac in two close sets. 6A Sand Springs is currently 7-2 on the season. They won their home tournament this past weekend, finishing ahead of teams like Bixby, Lincoln Christian, Choctaw, and OKC Southeast. Nearly every team has momentum and had a taste of a tournament title this past weekend and will be wanting more! We look for this to be a very competitive and exciting for all attending.  </p> <p>Players to watch: 2022 Libero Becca Hilmes from Claremore does a great job of pursuing balls and taking a ton of court in serve receive. 2022 OH [player_tooltip player_id="144095" first="Kasidy" last="Holland"] From Sand Springs had 42 kills and earned an All-Tournament selection. 2022 OH [player_tooltip player_id="144107" first="Lexi" last="Erb"] from Okay is ranked #18 overall in the 2022 class. 2023 OH Macy Collier from Holland Hall will be a staple for them. 2023 MB [player_tooltip player_id="145974" first="Layla" last="Lenex"] for the Sandites currently leads the her team in blocks and hitting percentage. Inola has a net presence in 2024 MB Brooke Walker who can cause some headaches for opposing hitters.  </p> <p><strong>Union Tournament</strong></p> <p>Teams attending: 6A Union, 6A Bishop Kelley, 6A Edmond Santa Fe, 6A Edmond North, 6A Stillwater, and 4A Victory Christian. </p> <p>There is some top level talent, as always, at the Union tournament this year. 4A Victory Christian will be looking to win the 4A state title this season. Most of this field will likely be in the top 10 in the first rankings. Edmond Santa Fe is coming off winning the Norman Tournament and will be looking at locking up that #1 spot in the ranking. Returning 6A champs, Bishop Kelley, will want to hold that top spot for themselves. The beauty of a tournament like this is every team takes steps towards their goals. Win or lose they are playing top-level teams and bettering themselves for down the road. </p> <p>There is no shortage of top players to watch, such as: 2022 OH [player_tooltip player_id="144089" first="Hannah" last="Warlick"] and 2022 OH [player_tooltip player_id="144087" first="Bella" last="Wakley"] both from Victory Christian. Edmond North’s Pins, RH [player_tooltip player_id="144142" first="Kathryn" last="Christie"] and OH [player_tooltip player_id="144091" first="Elaina" last="Murray"] will create pressure up front for opposing teams. Edmond Santa Fe has a barrage of talent at multiple positions like, 2022 MB [player_tooltip player_id="144108" first="Madison" last="Edwards"], S [player_tooltip player_id="144123" first="Abiana" last="Miraku"], and 2023 DS [player_tooltip player_id="145988" first="Addison" last="Banes"]. Stillwater will look to 2022 Setter [player_tooltip player_id="144128" first="Hallie" last="Thrash"], 2023 MBs [player_tooltip player_id="145970" first="Camryn" last="Farley"] and [player_tooltip player_id="145967" first="Bess" last="Glenn"]. </p> <!-- wp:paragraph --><!-- /wp:paragraph -->